Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser., 1887-03-04
The Constitutional Convention.

The Constitutional Convention.
Section 2 of article IA of the present
constitution of the State provides as fol-
lows:
Sec 2 It shall be the duty of the GeHera
Assembly to provide by law for takirg. at the
general election to be held in the year eighteen
hundred and eighty seven, and every twenty
years thereafter, the sense cf the people in re-
gard to calling a Convention for altering this
Constitution and if majority of voters a,
such election or elections shall vote for Con
vention, the General Assembly, at its next
session. shall provide by law for the assemb-
ling of such Convention, and for the election OF
Delegates thereto Each county, and Leeisla
tive District of the city of Baltimore, shall have
in such Convention number of Delegates
equal to its representation in both Houses at the
time at which the Convention is called But
any Constitution. or change, or amendment OF
the existing Constitution, which may be adopted
by such Convention, shall be submitted to the
voters OF this State, and shall have no effect
unless the same shall have been adopted by a
majority of the voters voting thereon.
In conformity with the provisions OF
this section of the constitution, the Legis-
lature at its last session passed an act pro-
viding for the submission of the question
to the people at the general election to be
he'd this fall. The people of the State
will therefore be called upon at that time
to decide whether or not we shall have a
convention and new constitution.
1t seems to be generally conceded by
= sp{o n rtio
ion throughout the State that radical al
terations and amendments in the present
constitution are necessary to adapt it to
the present condition of things During
the twenty years that have elapsed since
the present constitution was framed and
put in operation, many changes have oc-
and the circumsr ances by which the peo-
pie are surrounded are in many particu-
lars essentially different from what they
were at that time. This altered condition
of affairs needs to be recognized and pro-
vided for by suitable changes in the fun
damental principles of government. Be-
sides, some original defects in the present
constitution, not then apparent, by the
light of the twenty years practical exper-
ience to which they have been subjected,
are now clearly seen to be such. These
facts and the probable necessity of new
constitution at the end of twenty years
were foreseen by the trainers of the pre-
sent constitution, and hence the manda-
tory provision, above quoted, requiring
the submission of the question of a new
constitution to the people during the pre-
sent year.
The fact that the present constitution
fails to deal adequately with the question
of taxation of corporate property within
the State, which has now grown to be such
an important matter, seems, alone, to be
sufficient cause for new and more effec-
tive organic law, which shall deal thor
oughly with this question. 1t is a highly
important matter with the farmer that the
rich corporations of the State which are
growing annually more and more wealthy
and arrogant, should have to assume their
just and proper share of the burdens of
taxation because this will bring CORE
spending relief to the agricultural laLds
upon which the burden now rests so
heavily.
The present Judiciary system also, which
was adopted as an experiment by the last
constitutional convention, has proved to
be not we'll adapted to a proper admins
tration of justice. The close relation and
partial identity of the appellate court and
the circuit courts which is the character
istic feature of the present judiciary sys
tenn, is essentially wrong. and tends to
obstruct and complicate the administra-
tion of the laws. This system has been
condemned in other States in which it
once existed and its faulty operation led
to its repeal. The uniform opinion among
lawyers and Others capable of forming an
opinion on the question, is that every
State should have an appellate court en-
tirely independent of, and distinct from
the county courts. The Judiciary system,
which is the most important department
of the legal machinery of the State will,
therefore, come in for an essential remodel
ling at the hands of the constitution
makers. There are also many other ques-
tions of lesser magnitude which will re-
quire to be provided for in the new con-
stitution.
The Baltimore Sun, in a receBt article
on the subject, says that there will proba-
bly, be powerful influences exercised to
prevent the call of convention, but the
Sun adds: $50 far as we have been able
to understand public opinion, both as re-
flected in the last Legislature and since
ascertained, there is an overwhelming SEN
timent in favor of a constitutional con-
vention, which will certainly prevail at
the polls, unless practlced upon by such
arts. devices and il irf1uences as have played
their part in our midst from time to time"
1t seems probable that the corporate in
teresfs of the State, at the head of which
stands The B 6 O. R. r. Co., will exert
themselves to postpone the adoption of a
new constitution, if possible, and thereby
continue to themselves their present i'm
munity from their just share of the burden
of public taxes. 1t is possible, too, that
portion OF the present judiciary may un
dertake to exert whatever influence they
ing as they doubtless do that the present
faulty judiciary system will pass away
with the constitution that gave it birth.
1t is not likely, however, that the better
element of the present judges will interest
themselves one way or the other; as there